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To get the most out of your time in Season 1 of Diablo 4, you’ll need to get down and dirty with Malignant Hearts. The new features of the Seasonal Realm are all about harvesting Malignant Hearts, socketing them to your jewelry, and gaining huge bonuses — if you have the right sockets. There are four types of Malignant Hearts and four types of sockets, and if you want to understand how the entire system works, we’ll explain in the beginner’s guide below.
You’ll have until October 17th to farm all the Malignant Hearts your hero can carry, because that’s when Season 1 is ending. You’ll have about 3 months to grind to max level and get the best possible gear, all while completing seasonal Battle Pass tiers — or Premium tiers if you’re willing to put down some real money. The season is all about Malignant Hearts, for better or for worse, so if you’re on the fence and want to see what the Season is all about, this is a basic summary of the loop.
For more on Season 1, learn how to get started. Make a choice and decide if you want to skip the campaign or not. And get the rundown on how the Seasonal Realm works here.
More Diablo 4 guides:
All Guides & Walkthroughs | Class Overview | Necromancer Shadowblight Minions Build | Barbarian Unconstrained Berserk Build | Golem Summoning | Accessibility Options To Change First | Potion Upgrades & Increase Max Capacity | Unlocking Horses | Silent Chests & Whispering Keys | Secret of the Spring Quest Solution | Early Game Loot Farm
How Malignant Hearts Work
Malignant Hearts are the major new feature of Season 1. Before you can start capturing hearts, you’ll need to begin the questline exclusive to the Seasonal Realm — after making a character on the Seasonal Realm, you’ll then begin a series of quests where you investigate the new threat of Malignancy.
- After skipping (or completing) the campaign on the Seasonal Realm, begin the quest “Burning from Within” in Kyovashad. All seasonal content quests have green markers on your map.
- Complete this quest to meet Cormond and gain the Bag of Cages. Next, travel to the Dry Steppes to start the “Plague of Hatred” quest. Talk to Cormond at his Workbench, then travel to the Ravening Pit in the southeast.
The Ravening Pit is a Malignant Tunnel — a new Seasonal Dungeon with Malignant Enemies. Malignant Enemies have special modifiers that make them more dangerous. They will also drop Malignant Hearts.
How To Collect Malignant Hearts
Malignant Hearts are a new type of Gem you can socket into accessories. They drop from enemies infected with Malignancy.
- After completing the ‘Burning from Within‘ quest, you’ll acquire a key item that allows you to capture hearts.
- Rarely, Malignant enemies will drop a Malignant Heart in battle. Interact with the heart to cage it.
- This causes a powerful enemy to spawn. A more powerful Malignant enemy will appear — defeat it and it will drop a Malignant Heart. These hearts can come in multiple forms, including Brutal Hearts, Devious Hearts, etc.
Hearts are powerful new socket gems that can only be used for Season 1 loot. Here’s a quick explanation for how to equip and use Brutal Hearts.
How Do You Use Malignant Hearts?
Malignant Hearts are similar to gems. They can be socketed into gear (Jewelry / Accessories only) with unique sockets.
- Malignant Hearts come in multiple forms and can only be socketed into the matching Malignant Sockets. Brutal Hearts can be socketed into Brutal Sockets, Devious Hearts can be socketed into Devious Sockets, etc. These are special sockets found in jewelry dropped on the Seasonal Realm.
- Once a Malignant Heart has been socketed, it cannot be removed. It can be replaced with another Brutal Heart, however.
Equipping Malignant Hearts gives you an entirely new way to boost your character. With the right hearts, you can take your favorite build and make it even better.
How To Get Malignant Invokers
Malignant Invokers are a consumable item required to get the most out of Malignant Tunnels. At the end of every Malignant Tunnel, you’ll encounter a mass of flesh with two color-coded bulbs. By using a matching Invoker on the bulb, you’ll summon a powerful Malignant Enemy.
- After completing the first Malignant Tunnel, return to Cormond’s Workbench to craft the Brutal Malignant Invoker. This requests x20 Vicious Malignant Ichor, x20 Devious Malignant Ichor and x50 Brutal Malignant Ichor. You should have more than enough after the Malignant Tunnel.
- Invokers are used to summon powerful Malignant at the end of Malignant Tunnels. At the end of each tunnel, you’ll find a mass of flesh. By using an Invoker that matches the color of the mass (red, blue, purple, grey) you’ll summon the matching type of Malignant — and it will drop the matching type of Malignant Heart.
NOTE: To get more Ichor, you can salvage Malignant Hearts you don’t want. At Cormond’s Workbench, select the Salvage Malignant Items tab to dismantle the hearts you don’t want.
The rarest Malignant Heart is the Wrathful Heart. These types of masses are the rarest to appear at the end of a Malignant Tunnel — if you have a Wrathful Invoker, you’ll be able to summon a Wrathful Enemy which in turn drops an extremely powerful Wrathful Heart.
Invokers are consumables that are used up after completing a Malignant Tunnel invoking ritual. You’ll need to craft more at Cormond’s Workbench — and you’ll never know what types of Malignant Invokers you’ll need. Each Malignant Tunnel mass has two types. Bring all three to ensure you can summon a powerful enemy at the end.
